What criterion of progress can be called universal. Progress Criteria

It is very important to understand the direction in which our society is constantly changing and developing. This article is dedicated to this goal. Let's try to determine the criteria for social progress and answer a number of other questions. First of all, let's understand what progress and regression are.

Consideration of concepts

Social progress is such a direction of development, which is characterized by a progressive movement from simple and lower forms of organization of society to more complex, higher ones. Opposite to this term is the concept of "regression", that is, a reverse movement - a return to obsolete relations and structures, degradation, the direction of development from higher to lower.

The history of the formation of ideas about the measures of progress

The problem of criteria for social progress has long worried thinkers. The idea that changes in society are precisely a progressive process appeared in ancient times, but was finally formed in the works of M. Condorcet, A. Turgot and other French enlighteners. These thinkers saw the criteria for social progress in the development of the mind, the spread of enlightenment. This optimistic view of the historical process in the 19th century was replaced by other, more complex concepts. For example, Marxism sees progress in changing socio-economic formations from lower to higher ones. Some thinkers believed that the consequence of moving forward is the growth of the heterogeneity of society, the complication of its structure.

In modern science, historical progress is usually associated with such a process as modernization, that is, the transition of society from agrarian to industrial and further to post-industrial.

Scientists who do not share the idea of ​​progress

Not everyone accepts the idea of ​​progress. Some thinkers reject it in relation to social development - either predicting the "end of history", or saying that societies develop independently of each other, multilinear, in parallel (O. Spengler, N. Ya. Danilevsky, A. Toynbee), or considering history as a cycle with a series of ups and downs (J. Vico).

For example, Arthur Toynbee singled out 21 civilizations, in each of which certain phases of formation are distinguished: emergence, growth, breakdown, decline, and, finally, decomposition. Thus, he abandoned the thesis of the unity of the historical process.

O. Spengler wrote about the "decline of Europe". "Anti-progressism" is especially bright in the works of K. Popper. In his view, progress is a movement towards a specific goal, which is possible only for a particular person, but not in general for history. The latter can be seen as both a forward movement and a regression.

Progress and regress are not mutually exclusive concepts

The progressive development of society, obviously, in certain periods does not exclude regression, return movements, civilizational dead ends, even breakdowns. Yes, and it is hardly possible to speak of an unambiguously rectilinear development of mankind, because there are clearly both leaps forward and setbacks. Progress in a certain area, in addition, can be the cause of a decline, regression in another. Thus, the development of machinery, technologies, tools of labor is a clear evidence of progress in the economy, but it is precisely this development that has put our world on the brink of a global environmental catastrophe, having depleted the Earth's natural reserves.

Society today is also blamed for the crisis of the family, the decline of morality, lack of spirituality. The price of progress is high: for example, the conveniences of urban life are accompanied by various "urban diseases". Sometimes the negative consequences of progress are so obvious that a legitimate question arises as to whether it is even possible to say that humanity is moving forward.

Criteria of social progress: history

The question of the measures of social development is also relevant. Here, too, there is no agreement in the scientific world. The French enlighteners saw such a criterion in the development of reason, in increasing the degree of rationality of social organization. Some other thinkers and scientists (for example, A. Saint-Simon) believed that the highest criterion of social progress is the state of morality in society, the approximation to early Christian ideals.

G. Hegel adhered to a different opinion. He associated progress with freedom - the degree of its awareness by people. Marxism also proposed its own criterion of development: according to the supporters of this concept, it consists in the growth of productive forces.

K. Marx, seeing the essence of development in the increasing subordination of man to the forces of nature, reduced progress in general to a more particular one - in the production sphere. Contributing to development, he considered only those social relations that at this stage correspond to the level of productive forces, and also open up scope for the improvement of the person himself (acting as an instrument of production).

Criteria of social development: modernity

Philosophy subjected the criteria of social progress to a thorough analysis and revision. In modern social science, the applicability of many of them is disputed. The state of the economic foundation by no means determines the nature of the development of other spheres of social life.

The goal, and not just a means of social progress, is the creation of the necessary conditions for the harmonious and comprehensive development of the individual. Consequently, the criterion of social progress is precisely the measure of freedom that society is able to provide to a person in order to maximize his potential. According to the conditions created in society to meet the totality of the needs of the individual and his free development, the degree of progressiveness of this system, the criteria for social progress, should be assessed.

Let's summarize the information. The table below will help you learn the main criteria for social progress.

The table may be supplemented to include the points of view of other thinkers.

There are two forms of progress in society. Let's consider them below.

Revolution

A revolution is a complex or complete change in most or all aspects of society, affecting the foundations of the existing system. More recently, it was regarded as a universal universal "law of transition" from one socio-economic formation to another. However, scientists could not detect any signs of a social revolution during the transition to a class system from the primitive communal one. Therefore, it was necessary to expand the concept so that it could be applied to any transition between formations, but this led to the destruction of the original semantic content of the term. And the mechanism of a real revolution could be found only in phenomena relating to the era of the New Age (that is, during the transition to capitalism from feudalism).

Revolution from the point of view of Marxism

Following the Marxist methodology, we can say that a social revolution means a radical social upheaval that changes the structure of society and signifies a qualitative leap in progressive development. The deepest and most general cause of the rise of the social revolution is the otherwise insoluble conflict between the productive forces, which are growing, and the system of social institutions and relations, which remain unchanged. The aggravation against this background of political, economic and other contradictions in society, in the end, leads to a revolution.

The latter is always an active political action on the part of the people; its main goal is to transfer the management of society into the hands of a new social class. The difference between revolution and evolution is that the former is considered concentrated in time, that is, it happens quickly, and the masses become its direct participants.

The dialectics of such concepts as revolution and reform seems to be very complicated. The first, as a deeper action, most often absorbs the latter, thus, the action "from below" is supplemented by the activity "from above".

Many modern scholars urge us to abandon the excessive exaggeration in history of the significance of the social revolution, from the idea that it is an inevitable regularity in the solution of historical problems, because it has by no means always been the dominant form that determines social progress. Much more often, changes in the life of society occurred as a result of action "from above", that is, reforms.

Reform

This reorganization, transformation, change in some aspect of social life, which does not destroy the existing foundations of the social structure, keeps power in the hands of the ruling class. Thus, the understood path of a stepwise transformation of relations is opposed to a revolution that sweeps away the old system and orders to the ground. Marxism regarded the evolutionary process, which preserved the remnants of the past for a long time, as too painful and unacceptable for the people. Adherents of this concept believed that since reforms are carried out exclusively "from above" by forces that have power and do not want to part with it, their result will always be lower than expected: transformations are characterized by inconsistency and half-heartedness.

Underestimation of reforms

It was explained by the famous position formulated by V.I. Lenin - that the reforms are "a by-product of the revolution." Note: K. Marx already believed that reforms are never the result of the weakness of the strong, since they are brought to life precisely by the strength of the weak.

His Russian follower reinforced the denial of the possibility that the "tops" might have their own incentives at the start of reforms. IN AND. Lenin believed that reforms were a by-product of the revolution because they were unsuccessful attempts to stifle, weaken the revolutionary struggle. Even in cases where the reforms were clearly not the result of the actions of the popular masses, Soviet historians still explained them by the desire of the authorities to prevent encroachments on the existing system.

The "reform-revolution" ratio in modern social science

Over time, Russian scientists gradually freed themselves from the existing nihilism in relation to transformations through evolution, first recognizing the equivalence of revolutions and reforms, and then attacking the revolutions with criticism as a bloody, extremely inefficient, full of costs and leading to the inevitable dictatorship path.

Now great reforms (that is, revolutions "from above") are considered the same social anomalies as great revolutions. They are united by the fact that these ways of resolving contradictions are opposed to healthy, normal practice of gradual, continuous reform in a self-regulating society.

The "revolution-reform" dilemma is replaced by a clarification of the relationship between reform and permanent regulation. In this context, both revolution and changes "from above" "cure" a neglected disease (the first - by "surgical intervention", the second - by "therapeutic methods"), while early and permanent prevention is probably necessary in order to ensure social progress.

Therefore, in social science today, the emphasis is shifting from the antinomy "revolution-reform" to "innovation-reform". Innovation means a one-time ordinary improvement associated with an increase in the adaptive capacity of society in specific conditions. It is she who can ensure the greatest social progress in the future.

The criteria for social progress discussed above are not unconditional. Modern science recognizes the priority of the humanities over others. However, the general criterion of social progress has not yet been established.

1. The fundamental ideas of the Bible include (indicate all the correct options):

a) the creation of the world out of nothing; e) Man is created in the image and likeness of God.

2. The main dogma of the Christian doctrine regarding God is:

c) God, being one and only, exists in three hypostases;

3. The main dogma of Christianity:

b) trinity;

4. The religious-Christian understanding of man claims that:

d) man is the “crown of creation” and the ruler of everything created for him by God;

5. At the center of the reflections of the philosophers of the Middle Ages is:

6. The most important section of knowledge in the Middle Ages:

b) theology;

7. Medieval epistemology is based on the idea:

c) revelations;

8. The theory of the justification of God in relation to the evil he allows in the world is called:

d) theodicy;

9. Medieval philosophical thought:

c) used the ideas of individual philosophers, processing them in accordance with their own needs;

10. The Christian-religious understanding of history means:

a) history is a rectilinear movement from the fall to the day of judgment;

11. Apologists in II V. n. e.:

b) defended, justified the Christian dogma;

12. A new quality of a person discovered by medieval patristics:

13. Augustine makes the central object of philosophical reflection:

14. The basis of spiritual life in the concept of Augustine is:

15. The highest criterion of truth in the concept of Augustine:

c) revelation;

16. The task of medieval philosophy, from the point of view of the scholastics, was to:

c) find rational evidence of faith;

17. Scholasticism proclaimed a distinction between:

a) faith and reason;

18. The subject of the dispute about universals was:

c) the real existence of general concepts;

19. In the debate about universals, realists:

a) attributed existence to the common;

20. Nominalism in its attack on the strict rationalization of religious dogmas, thereby:

b) paved the way for the separation of theology from philosophy;

21. On the issue of the relationship between philosophy and religion, Thomas Aquinas put forward the thesis that:

c) religion is not extra- and not anti-rational, it is super-rational;

22. Thomas Aquinas adhered to the concept:

d) the superiority of faith over knowledge.

23. The teaching of Thomas Aquinas and the whole religious and philosophical direction, created by him, is called:

b) Thomism;

24. In his discussion of God, Thomas Aquinas:

b) recognized God as completely transcendent, unknowable;

25. Exploring the problems of the human soul, Thomas Aquinas proceeded from the fact that:

a) the soul is a pure form without matter, it is incorporeal;

26. This medieval thinker owns the five most complete ways of proving the existence of God:

b) Thomas Aquinas;

27. Set the correspondence of the philosopher to the philosophical direction:

1. realism; d) Thomas Aquinas. b) Anselm of Canterbury; 2. nominalism; a) William of Ockham c) John Roscelin;

28. Set the sequence of philosophers of the Middle Ages:

c) Philo of Alexandria; d) Tertullian. b) Bl. Augustine; a) Thomas Aquinas

29. Set the sequence of occurrence of philosophical works:

d) "On the Beginnings" Origen. a) "About the city of God" Bl. Augustine; c) "On Divine Names" by Dionysius the Areopagite; b) "The Sum of Theology" by Thomas Aquinas;

30. Set the correspondence of the philosophical treatise to one or another philosopher:

1. "About the city of God"; b) Bl. Augustine; 2. "The sum of theology"; d) Thomas Aquinas. 3. "On divine names"; a) Dionysius the Areopagite 4. "On the beginnings"; c) Origen;

Are you already familiar with the concept of social dynamics? Society does not stand still, constantly changing the direction of its development. Is society really increasing the pace of its development, what is its direction? How to answer it correctly, we will analyze in task 25 after the topic.

"Progress is a movement in a circle, but faster and faster"

So thought the American writer Leonard Levinson.

To begin with, remember that we already know the concept and it and also worked out the topic

Recall that one of the signs is development, movement. The society is constantly in the process of change, the institutions it needs are developing, complicating Unclaimed institutions are dying off. We have already traced the development of the Institute

Let's look at other important institutions - we will present their development and social demand in them in the form of a table:

Social dynamics is expressed in various directions of development of society.

Progress- the progressive development of society, expressed in the complication of the social structure.

Regression– degradation of the social structure and social relations (reverse PROGRESS term, its antonym).

The concepts of PROGRESS and REGRESS are very conditional; what is typical for the development of one society cannot be acceptable for another. Recall that in ancient Sparta, weak newborn boys were simply thrown off a cliff, because they could not become warriors. Today this custom looks barbaric to us.

Evolution- the gradual development of society (reverse REVOLUTION term, its antonym). One of its forms is reform- a change emanating from and changing relations in one of the areas (for example, the agrarian reform of P.A. Stolypin). REVOLUTION in the sense comes from

Social dynamics is the subject of study of one of the sciences about SOCIETY - social. There are two main approaches to the study of society.

According to Marx, every society must go through all stages of development and come to (linearity of development). The civilizational approach provides for the alternative ways of each, the parallel existence of societies with different levels of development, which is more in line with modern realities. It is this approach that is most in demand in the context of USE assignments.

Let's try to compare the three types of companies in terms of various important parameters in the form of a table:

And we conclude that in the historical development there are three main types of society:

Traditional society - historical type of civilization based on both the predominance and

industrial society - a historical type of civilization based on the introduction of the liquidation of the monarchical political system of the Middle Ages.

Post-industrial (information) society - a modern type of civilization based on domination (computers in production, Result of the 20th century.

Thus, today we have worked on the following important topics from

• The concept of social progress;
• Multivariance of social development (types of societies).

And now WORKSHOP! REINFORCING THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED TODAY!

We carry out

exercise 25. What is the meaning of social scientists in the concept of "criterion of progress"? Drawing on the knowledge of the social science course, make two sentences: one sentence revealing the features of progress, and one sentence containing information about the criteria (s) for determining progress.

To begin with, do not make the most common mistake associated with this task. We are required not two sentences, but a CONCEPT and 2 SENTENCES (three in total!). So, we remembered the concept of progress - the progressive development of society, its movement forward. Let's choose a synonym for the word criterion - measure, yardstick. Respectively:
"The criterion of progress" is a measure by which the degree of development of a society is judged.

1. A feature of progress is its inconsistency, all criteria for progress are subjective.

And, remember that although the degree of development of society can be measured in different ways (there are many approaches - the level of development of science, technology and technology, the degree of democracy, a generally accepted single criterion - the humanity of society). So:

2. The universal criterion for determining progress is the degree of humaneness of society, the ability to provide maximum conditions for the development of each person.

So here's what our answer looks like:

25. "The criterion of progress" is a measure by which the degree of development of a society is judged.

1. A feature of progress is its inconsistency, all criteria of progress are subjective.
2. The universal criterion for determining progress is the degree of humanity of society, the ability to provide the maximum conditions for the development of each person.

atheists? Why?

2) Describe the role of religion in the life of a person, society, state. What is the moral force of religion?

3) What is a world religion? What is the essence of the discussion about the number of world religions? What do you think, what criteria are used by those experts who name more than three world religions?

4) What role have world religions played and are playing in the history of mankind?

5) What role does the religious factor play in contemporary conflicts? Is it possible to say that often it is only a pretext for starting an armed confrontation?

A. Discovering new laws of nature, intervening more and more actively in the natural environment, a person clearly defines the consequences of his intervention,
B. The consequences of the industrial and post-industrial revolutions for nature are only positive
2. using such a criterion as the success of science and technology, you can show the progressive nature
1) the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861,
2) Distribution of information technologies in society,
3) elimination of class privileges,
4) treaties on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
3. The inclusion of "braking mechanisms", the inability of society to perceive the new, advanced, is called
1) progress, 2) regression, 3) stagnation, 4) stagnation.
4. Progress means
1) the decline of culture, 2) moving forward, 3) cyclical development, 4) a state of stability
5. The "Golden Age" called the ancient society
1) Plato, 2) Aristotle, 3) Lucretius car, 4) Hesiod
6. The French Enlighteners referred to the criteria of progress
1) the development of reason and morality, 2) the complication of legal institutions, 3) the development of productive forces, 4) the conquest of nature
7. Is it true?
A. The progressive development of society is always an irreversible movement forward.
B. Social progress is contradictory, does not exclude return movements and regression.
1) only A is true, 2) only B is true, 3) both judgments are correct, 4) both judgments are wrong
8. K. Popper believed that
A. The historical process is progressive.
B. Progress is only possible for the individual.
1) only A is true, 2) only B is true, 3) both judgments are correct, 4) both judgments are incorrect.
9. The criterion for the development of society is not
1) the level of development of science, 2) the degree of satisfaction of personal needs, 3) the religious preferences of society, 4) the state of the economy
10. The idea that society develops along the path of regression was defended by
1) Plato, 2) Aristotle, 3) Hesiod, 4) Condorcet
11. The highest criterion of social progress, according to Marx, is
1) the development of productive forces, 2) the moral, spiritual and moral state of society, 3) the degree of increase in human freedom, 4) the development of the human mind
12. What can be attributed to the causes of social change?
1) external factors, the influence of the environment, 2) contradictions that arise within society, 3) the desire of people for a new, more perfect one, 4) all of the above
13. What is the highest criterion of social progress?
1) the interests of the development of productive forces, 2) the moral, spiritual state of society, 3) a person, the quality of his life (progressive is what contributes to the rise of humanism), 4) all of the above
14. Is it true?
A. The development of science and technology is a universal criterion of social progress.
B. The development of humanism is the universal criterion of social progress.
1) only A is true, 2) only B is true, 3) both judgments are correct, 4) both judgments are wrong
15. The criterion of social progress can be considered
1) development of the mind, 2) development of production, science, technology, 3) development of morality, 4) all of the above
16. Insert a dusted word
Public...
A. Replacing obsolete forms of social organization with new ones
B. Movement from less perfect to more perfect
17. Are the judgments correct?
A. It is impossible to bring up a sense of responsibility
B. Responsibility is an exclusively internal quality and is not associated with external forms of influence on a person
1) only A is true, 2) only B is true, 3) both judgments are correct, 4) both judgments are wrong
18. Is it true?
A. Human freedom is synonymous with permissiveness
B. Human freedom is impossible in the conditions of social relations and interactions
1) only A is true, 2) only B is true, 3) both judgments are correct, 4) both judgments are wrong
19. Is it true?
A. Human freedom is manifested in a conscious choice when making decisions
B. The only restriction on a person's freedom is his moral principles.
1) only A is true, 2) only B is true, 3) both judgments are correct, 4) both judgments are wrong
20. Is it true?
A. Freedom is permissiveness, the ability to act according to only your desires
B. The freedom of a person in society implies the ability to make a conscious choice and take responsibility for it.
1) only A is true, 2) only B is true, 3) both judgments are correct, 4) both judgments are wrong

33. What typologies of society are accepted in science, what is a pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial society?

34. What is the manifestation of social and scientific and technological progress?

35. How would you characterize the global problems of mankind?

36. What is the world community?

37. How does a person become a personality?

38. What is socialization and education?

39. What human needs have you met?

40. How does a person cognize the world and himself?

41. What is the spiritual life of a person?

42. How are freedom and responsibility related?

43. How does a person manifest himself in a group?

44. What is interpersonal relationships and communication process?

45. How do conflicts arise and are resolved in society?

Condorcet (like other French enlighteners) considered the development of the mind to be the criterion of progress. Utopian socialists put forward a moral criterion for progress. Saint-Simon believed, for example, that society should adopt a form of organization that would lead to the implementation of the moral principle that all people should treat each other as brothers. A contemporary of the utopian socialists, the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling (1775-1854) wrote that the solution to the question of historical progress is complicated by the fact that supporters and opponents of the belief in the perfection of mankind are completely entangled in disputes about the criteria for progress. Some talk about the progress of mankind in the field of morality, others - about the progress of science and technology, which, as Schelling wrote, from a historical point of view, is rather a regression, and offered his own solution to the problem: the criterion in establishing the historical progress of the human race can only be a gradual approach to legal device.

Another point of view on social progress belongs to G. Hegel. He saw the criterion of progress in the consciousness of freedom. As the consciousness of freedom grows, the progressive development of society takes place.

As you can see, the question of the criterion of progress occupied the great minds of modern times, but did not find a solution. The disadvantage of all attempts to overcome this problem was that in all cases only one line (or one side, or one sphere) of social development was considered as a criterion. And reason, and morality, and science, and technology, and the legal order, and the consciousness of freedom - all these indicators are very important, but not universal, not covering the life of a person and society as a whole.

In our time, philosophers also hold different views on the criterion of social progress. Let's consider some of them.

One of the current points of view is that the highest and universal objective criterion of social progress is the development of productive forces, including the development of man himself. It is argued that the direction of the historical process is due to the growth and improvement of the productive forces of society, including the means of labor, the degree to which man masters the forces of nature, the possibility of using them as the basis of human life. The origins of all human activity lie in social production. According to this criterion, those social relations are recognized as progressive, which. correspond to the level of productive forces and open up the greatest scope for their development, for the growth of labor productivity, for the development of man. Man is considered here as the main thing in the productive forces, therefore their development is understood from this point of view and as the development of the wealth of human nature.

This position is criticized from a different point of view. Just as it is impossible to find a universal criterion of progress only in social consciousness (in the development of reason, morality, consciousness of freedom), so it is impossible to find it only in the sphere of material production (technology, economic relations). History has given examples of countries where a high level of material production was combined with the degradation of spiritual culture. In order to overcome the one-sidedness of the criteria that reflect the state of only one sphere of social life, it is necessary to find a concept that would characterize the essence of human life and activity. In this capacity, philosophers propose the concept of freedom.

Freedom, as you already know, is characterized not only by knowledge (the absence of which makes a person subjectively not free), but also by the presence of conditions for its realization. It also requires a decision based on free choice. Finally, funds are also required, as well as actions aimed at implementing the decision taken. We also recall that the freedom of one person should not be achieved by infringing on the freedom of another person. Such restriction of freedom has a social and moral character.

The meaning of human life lies in self-realization, self-realization of the individual. So, freedom acts as a necessary condition for self-realization. In fact, self-realization is possible if a person has knowledge about his abilities, the opportunities that society gives him, about the ways of activity in which he can realize himself. The wider the opportunities created by society, the freer the person, the more options for activities in which his potential will be revealed. But in the process of multifaceted activity, there is also a multilateral development of the person himself, the spiritual wealth of the individual grows.

So, according to this point of view, the criterion of social progress is the measure of freedom that society is able to provide to the individual, the degree of individual freedom guaranteed by society. The free development of a person in a free society also means the disclosure of his truly human qualities - intellectual, creative, moral. This statement brings us to another view of social progress.

As we have seen, one cannot confine oneself to characterizing man as an active being. He is also a rational and social being. Only with this in mind can we talk about the human in a person, about humanity. But the development of human qualities depends on the conditions of people's lives. The more fully the various needs of a person in food, clothing, housing, transport services, his requests in the spiritual field are satisfied, the more moral relations between people become, the more accessible for a person are the most diverse types of economic and political, spiritual and material activities. The more favorable the conditions for the development of the physical, intellectual, mental forces of a person, his moral principles, the wider the scope for the development of individual qualities inherent in each individual person. In short, the more humane the conditions of life, the more opportunities for the development of the human in a person: reason, morality, creative forces.

Humanity, the recognition of man as the highest value, is expressed by the word "humanism". From what has been said above, we can draw a conclusion about the universal criterion of social progress: progressive is that which contributes to the rise of humanism.

Criteria of social progress.

In the extensive literature on social progress, there is currently no single answer to the main question: what is the general sociological criterion of social progress?

A relatively small number of authors argue that the very formulation of the question of a single criterion of social progress is meaningless, since human society is a complex organism, the development of which is carried out along different lines, which makes it impossible to formulate a single criterion. The majority of authors consider it possible to formulate a single general sociological criterion of social progress. However, even with the very formulation of such a criterion, there are significant discrepancies ...